cheap-o simple quick solution

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:58 am

Well, I'm cheap, and the slk3000b was humming out of contol, so I had to do something about it. I tried suspending the drives with string, still had the darn hum from the 3000b (it's the worst noise in the world). So, looking around here, I saw the foam solution, looked good enough, one problem, didn't have any foam.

What did I do? I bought 2 sponges, fairly big and pretty stiff. The size fit perfectly in the drive cage. I 'mounted' the drives turned 90 degrees vertically so they would have enough space. The drive cage is too small to fit the drives vertically w/ the sponge, so this ended up working. I cut smaller pieces to keep the drives separated at one end, then, at the back end (this is the killer part), I wrapped a paper clip around 2 of the HD screws so that they wouldn't try to touch where the cable come out. Total cost of my solution:

2 sponges: $0.50 each
1 paper clip: $0.02
2 HD screws: came with mobo

$1.02

Now, you might say that the elastic solution is cheaper. But this took me less than 10 minutes, and the elastics would have definitely taken longer. I'll try to get some pics.

IsaacKuo · Post by **IsaacKuo** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:05 am

Nice one! My own bubblewrap/plastic bottle based solution costs less (like anyone cares about $1), but takes maybe half and hour to put together.

I'm not switching, though, because my solution can work in almost any case--it can even be moved from case to case--and I don't have to worry about the hard drive slipping out or getting damaged when moving the case around.

Anyway, I don't understand why you used foam pieces for one end and a paperclip for the other end. Why not the same method for both ends?

BrianE · Post by **BrianE** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:41 pm

I love cheap innovations - I'd really like to see those pics.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:16 pm

SpongeBob HardDrivePants

mai9 · Post by **mai9** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:52 pm

BrianE wrote:I love cheap innovations - I'd really like to see those pics.

yes, I do want the pictures too

how much are the pictures?

ki_cz · Post by **ki_cz** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 2:03 am

IsaacKuo wrote:Nice one! My own bubblewrap/plastic bottle based solution costs less (like anyone cares about $1), but takes maybe half and hour to put together.

I'm not switching, though, because my solution can work in almost any case--it can even be moved from case to case--and I don't have to worry about the hard drive slipping out or getting damaged when moving the case around.

Anyway, I don't understand why you used foam pieces for one end and a paperclip for the other end. Why not the same method for both ends?

Basically, because of the drive cage. Towards the front of the cage, I used the pieces of sponge, this was so that the drives wouldn't hit eachother, or the sides of the cage. In the back, the drives stick out beyond the end of the cage, so I couldn't really use the sponge any more, because it probably would have fallen out from between the drives. I also wanted to use as little sponge as possible to hold the drives so that they wouldn't block airflow as well as hold the heat in the drives. As I said, I'll try and get pics up soon, or at least draw some up.

kuril · Post by **kuril** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:52 am

great!

I just bought 85cents worth of "Air Conditioner Weatherseal", cut two strips slightly larger than the drive, sat them within the 5.5" drive carriage, and put my 10000rpm drive on top of them. Air flow in the case is such that hot air is being sucked from the bay, so it is well ventilated.

Vibration Isolated HDD

The difference is astounding. I'm new to silencing, but I did realize that my drive transfers a huge amount of energy into the case -- making it very noisy. This was highlighted after I replaced my GF6600GT HS and Fan with a Zalman ZF700...

Fantastic stuff. Now only my fans cause the case to vibrate

mk · Post by mk » Tue Nov 01, 2005 6:07 am

Well is you want to get rid of the fan induced vibration and you like cheap innovations you should consider to mount the fans with earplugs. It is cheap an works great. see This tread